Rise In EU Migration To Britain Tests PM Cameron's Immigration Pledge

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of European Union citizens moving
to Britain has risen significantly, data showed on Thursday,
putting pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron and his pledge
to cut immigration - a key political issue ahead of a 2015
election.

Opinion polls show that immigration is regularly top of voters'
concerns heading into a general election next May and has fueled
rising support for the UK Independence party (UKIP), which wants
to end EU workers right to move freely to Britain by pulling out
of the 28-country bloc altogether.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said net long-term
migration into Britain was 243,000 in the year to March 2014, up
from 175,000 in the previous twelve months. The ONS said the
number of EU citizens moving to Britain rose to 214,000 from
170,000 over the same period.

Cameron has previously pledged to reduce annual net immigration
to the tens of thousands by 2015.

The threat of UKIP, which won an unprecedented national victory
in EU parliamentary elections in May, has put extra pressure on
Cameron to tackle immigration. His government has tightened visa
rules to target migration from outside the EU and restricted
access to Britain's welfare system to deter EU migrants.